Heen's return
by MadMaukh
Summary: On Indar, Axis goes to visit an old pilot for a vital mission.


Xenotech labs was quiet. After the conglomerate pulled out, Terran republic soldiers were awaiting relief. Aside from the moans of the wounded, still tender from the green swarms of nanites repairing their bodies most soldiers not on watch were either catching some sleep or repairing or checking their equipment.

A Valkyrie flew into view, its thrusters kicking up a swirling whirlwind of dust. On the side, a grinning skull, flanked by wings could be seen. Hanging off the side, Field Marshal "Axis" Bond, jumped off, a nearby TR soldier saluted and approached. Wearing a commissioner hat, Tx1 repeater strapped in knee holster, the field marshal exuded an air of quiet competence.

Axis nodded. "At ease, son."

"Sir, SOCA battalion has sector locked down."

"I'm not here on command business, just looking for an old friend. Names Private Heen, you seen him?"

"Heen sir? Uh, he's out the back. I'll send someone to go get him."

"No need, I'll find him myself."

"Sir, I should really send an escort, or at least tell my CO."

"Relax son. If you've got this sector locked down, you got nothing to worry about."

With that, Axis walked past the SOCA private.

Inside Xenotech barracks, TR soldiers wandered about, one was cleaning his Tx2 Emperor, and another was watching a vid on his personal holo-screen. Light flooded in flickering through the archways, a dusky indar sunset, mixed in with the sounds of warfare, the mosquito jets flying and cannons roaring away in the distance.

Axis could hear the sounds emanating from the screen where a TRSO show was playing.

A comically large bearded TR officer, smoking a medstick was being driven by a stick thin Asian conglomerate soldier.

"You know, I don't think you're doing that right."

"Shuddup fool, I am here to help you destroy gunzablaze, he has become super evil"

"Yes, but he's just a shitter."

With a roar, the harasser blew through two trees and flipped over, exploding into flames.

"Dude! Do you think they got my order?"

Axis shook his head and asked the soldier cleaning his inquisitor, "Hey soldier, you seen heen around?"

"Yeah, he's just in the back sir, YO HEEN, you got a visitor!" he yelled.

Axis looked over at the back end of the barracks, near the control console, there was a sound of coughing, and then no reply.

Axis walked pass the engrossed holo-viewer and into Heen's room. His foot tripped over a discarded glass bottle marked "NS, ethanol cleaning fluid," and he muttered: "What the fu-"

"Don't touch that, yelled a hoarse voice, I need that for the still, you mupp- oh shit."

Dressed in a greasy tank top, medstick still sticking out of his arm, wearing thick aviator shades that somehow failed to cover the bags under his eyes, was Heen. In the middle of the room, wired into the control console, were pipes flowing with a blue coloured liquid leading into a bank of jerry cans marked with X.

"Holy shit, Axis?"

"Hey Heen. So this is where you ended up huh."

"Yeah. Look, don't tell my CO, these guys are so uptight."

"Course they are, you're a fucking TR soldier! Not some vanu whore or conglomerate sell out."

"Don't you judge me, I don't care how high they promoted you. That won't stop me."

"What will? When you're strung out on medkits that you mistake a vanu sniper for a dispenser? Or when you eventually snap and turn on your unit? You used to be good heen! You were the best goddamned pilot we had!"

"Yeah So? So what?"

Axis was taken aback. He wasn't used to someone being so indifferent.

'Heen noticed, peering over the aviator shades.

"Oh, that didn't occur to you, that maybe I didn't want to be part of your spec-ops, black bag shit. That I didn't want to see good, young men like pegz, chunk, Ironhyde, Adequate, jump from my plane and die, over and over again. Then to miraculously come back to life, look at me as they board my galaxy congratulate me on an awesome job, and get dropped off to die again. You think they're doing any better cause they've got squads of their own now? You think I'm the only one to use this?" he said, pointing at the discarded medkits on a nearby table.

Heen's medkit had fallen off his arm. Taking off his glasses, he continued his tirade, getting angrier as he spoke.

"I didn't sign up to drop young men off, time and time again to die at the same fucking bases. How many time did we take Ceres Axis? Was it 5? 10? 15? Do you even remember how many we pushed over the edge and didn't come back? Do you even care? Or have they promoted you high enough that you can't see hossin for the trees?."

Axis took two steps around the still without saying a word, punched Heen, throwing him to the ground. He pounced upon him, knee pinning him in place.

"Every day I watch the gals' burn. Gals full of good men and women who only wanted order, safety, whose only crime was having the temerity to defend themselves against greed and technocracy. I know every single juggernaut we lost. Exocett, Cersy, Kracker were all there before you and forgot more about my black bag shit, as you so nicely put it, than you'll ever know!. We do what we do, because if we don't, the TR won't survive. You don't like me? Fine. But don't tell me what I can and can't care about. You were good Heen, good enough for me to waste my time like this, but not anymore, clearly."

It was then they both heard the sound. The squishy, not quite human sound of a vanu infiltrator decloaking behind the still. Heen reacted first, reaching past Axis's arm and pulling out the repeater, Axis let go of him, snapping around and reaching for his combat chainblade.

As he turned around, he felt air charged with static as a vanu infiltrator's piezoelectric knife swing by past where his neck had been.

Ping-ping-ping went the repeater, twice.

The vanu infiltrator dropped to the ground, a trifecta of three holes on his chest and head.

Despite himself, Axis said, "Nice shot."

Brushing themselves off, Heen said, "I appreciate the visit, but my answer is no."

Axis said nothing, just merely walked back through the barracks.

The SOCA squad that had run with their weapons to the sound of gunfire moved aside to let the field marshal pass. Axis said to them; "Relax, just a stalker cloak. Tell your man on watch to be on alert for an offensive soon," Looking at Heen, he said "Try not to get too drunk before then and if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

Heen picked up the NS bottle and sarcastically saluted.

Axis nodded one final time, and made his way to his Valkyrie, leaving Xenotech in a cloud of dust.

Back at the TR warpgate, he radio Major Jack "Ripper" Ryan, "You're up for tonight's drop. No escort, sadly."

"Understood. I'll tell the squad."

===Three hours later. Operation Dealbreaker, somewhere over Amerish.===

Alarms were going off in the cockpit. Lt Ryan was frantically pulling switches, and his co-pilot John "JC" McLane was straining to control the aircraft. The sounds of groaning metal and the whine of the thrusters drowned out most of the flak and gunfire outside the aircraft.

"I've got fires in thrusters 1 and two! Left bulldog is offline! Walker operating at 30 percent, we have a jam in the drake!"

Ripper yelled back into the cabin to the Field Marshal,

"This is as close as I can get sir! I'm not sure I can keep her up for much longer!"

The walker gunner shouted, "I see a NC Lib, Twelve o clock, in the distance, it's turning to face us!"

Axis made the call. "Alright, Squad is go for drop! Pilots too! Try and keep her up as long as you can, Rip."

"Strawbs! he yelled to the first soldier next to the door. "You're up first! Go!" The female juggernaut jumped out the door without hesitation, anti-grav harness giving her a ghostly glow.

"Squad leads take over until I hit the ground!"

The walker gunner yelled out, "THAT LIB'S GOT A DALTON, BRACE BRACE BRACE!"

The galaxy shook with a single jarring impact. Miraculously, it was still held together.

JC yelled out, "Fire! Fire in the cabin!"

Ripper pulled the fire suppression lever, and smoke filled the inside of the cabin, stinging unprotected eyes of anyone not wearing a helmet.

"That's it Sir! one more shot and we're gone, time to bail!"

Juggernauts started dropping one by one, there was still more than half the squad left.

Rip got back into the cockpit, trying to hold the giant aircraft steady. Most of its guns had gone silent.

"Come on baby. Hold together."

"Sir! Inbound galaxy, unknown faction! It's going for that lib!"

Axis looked out the front cockpit window, and saw a TR gal, with the standard logo crudely painted over with the letters "JUGA" ram into the liberator at full speed, causing both to burst into flames.

"Who was that?" Asked Ripper,

Axis checked his heads up display…

"It was Heen. That son of a bitch did always know how to make an entry. Let's go boys, time to leave this gal to her fate."

The last three juggernauts jumped out of the aircraft, and into the darkness of amerish below.


End file.
